1.
7th century BC
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The 7th century BC began the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC. The Assyrian Empire continued to dominate the Near East during this century, exercising power over neighbors like Babylon. In the last two decades of the century, however, the empire began to unravel as numerous enemies made alliances, the Assyrians finally left the world stage permanently when their capital Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC. These events gave rise to the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which would dominate the region for much of the following century,699 BC, Khallushu succeeds Shuttir-Nakhkhunte as king of the Elamite Empire. 697 BC, Death of King Huan of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China,696 BC, King Zhuang of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. 696 BC, The Cimmerians ravage Phrygia, possible migration of the Armenians,691 BC, King Sennacherib of Assyria defeats king Humban-nimena of Elam in the Battle of Halule. 690 BC, Taharqa, a king of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty,689 BC, King Sennacherib of Assyria sacks Babylon. 687 BC, Gyges becomes king of Lydia,687 BC, Hezekiah succeeded by Manasseh as king of Judah. 682 BC, Death of King Zhuang of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China,681 BC, King Xi of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. 681 BC, Esarhaddon succeeds Sennacherib as king of Assyria,677 BC, Death of King Li of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. 677 BC, Esarhaddon leads the Assyrian army against rebellious Arab tribes, advances as far as the Brook of Egypt,676 BC, King Hui of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. 675 BC, Esarhaddon begins the rebuilding of Babylon,674 BC, Esarhaddon puts down a revolt in Ashkelon supported by Taharqa, king of Egypt. In response, the Assyrians invade Egypt, but Taharqa is able to hold the invaders off,673 BC, Tullus Hostilius becomes king of Rome. 671 BC, Esarhadon again invades Egypt, capturing Memphis as well as a number of the royal family,669 BC, Assurbanipal succeeds his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria. 669 BC, Argos defeats Sparta for the last time, this using a Phalanx. 668 BC, Shamash-shum-ukin, son of Esarhaddon, becomes King of Babylon,668 BC, Egypt revolts against Assyria. 668 BC, Nineveh, capital of Assyria becomes the largest city of the world,667 BC, Byzantium founded by Megaran colonists under Byzas. 664 BC, First naval battle in Greek recorded history, between Corinth and Corcyra,664 BC, Assurbanipal captures and sacks Thebes, Egypt
2.
5th century BC
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The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. This century saw the establishment of Pataliputra as a capital of Magadha Empire and this city would later become the ruling capital of different Indian Kingdoms for about a thousand years. This period saw the rise of two great schools of the East, Jainism and Buddhism. This period saw Mahavira and Buddha spreading their teachings in Northern Plains of India. This essentially changed the socio-cultural and political dynamics of the region of South Asia, Buddhism would later go on to become one of the major world religions. This period also saw the work of Yaska, who created Nirukta, Ancient Greek philosophy developed during the 5th century BC, setting the foundation for Western ideology. In Athens and elsewhere in the Mediterranean world, the 5th century marked a point in the development of political institutions, art, architecture. The century was notable for the Persian Wars, fought between the Greek cities and the vast Persian Empire. His son Xerxes attempted to finish the job 10 years later, and succeeded in capturing Athens and burning it to the ground, and was defeated later on land at Plataea. In the latter part of the century the Greeks became locked in a war among themselves, with the major cities Athens. The Spartans were victorious in this battle, demotic becomes the dominant script of ancient Egypt. 499 BC, Aristagoras, acting on behalf of the Persian Empire,499 BC, Aristagoras instigates the Ionic Revolt, beginning the Persian Wars between Greece and Persia. 499 BC, Sardis destroyed by Athenian and Ionian troops,498 BC, Leontini subjugated by Hippocrates of Gela. 498 BC, Alexander I succeeds his father Amyntas I as king of Macedon,496 BC, Battle of Lake Regillus, A legendary early Roman victory, won over either the Etruscans or the Latins. 495 BC, Temple to Mercury on the Circus Maximus in Rome is built,494 BC, The Battle of Lade, where Persians take back Ionia. 494 BC, Two tribunes of the plebs and two plebeian aediles are elected for the first time in Rome, the office of the tribunate is established,494 BC, The year Rome changed from an Aristocratic Republic to a Liberalized Republic. 493 BC, Piraeus, the town of Athens, is founded. 493 BC, Coriolanus captures the Volscian town of Corioli for Rome,492 BC, First expedition of King Darius I of Persia against Greece, under the leadership of his son-in-law Mardonius
3.
6th century BC
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The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. This century represents the peak of a period in human history popularly known as Axial Age, pāṇini, in India, composed a grammar for Sanskrit, in this century or slightly later. This is the oldest still known grammar of any language, the Kingdom of Judah came to an end in 586 BC when Babylonian forces under Nebuchadnezzar II captured Jerusalem, and removed most of its population to their own lands. Babylonian rule was ended in the 540s by Cyrus, who founded the Persian Empire in its place, the Persian Empire continued to expand and grew into the greatest empire the world had known at the time. In Iron Age Europe, the Celtic expansion was in progress, China was in the Spring and Autumn period. Laozi founds Taoism West Asia, During the Persian empire, Zoroaster, zarathustra, founded Zoroastrianism, a dualistic philosophy. This was also the time of the Babylonian captivity of the ancient Jews, ancient India, the Buddha and Mahavira found Buddhism and Jainism The decline of the Olmec civilization in Central America Mid-6th century BC, Foundation of Temple of Olympian Zeus. 598 BC, Jehoiachin succeeds Jehoiakim as King of Judah,16 March 597 BC, Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king. 595 BC, Psammetichus II succeeds Necho II as King of Egypt,594 BC, Solon appointed Archon of Athens, institutes democratic reforms. 590 BC, Egyptian army sacks Napata, compelling the Cushite court to move to a secure location at Meroe near the sixth Cataract. 589 BC, Apries succeeds Psammetichus II as King of Egypt,588 BC, Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon begins siege of Jerusalem, some sources set the date at 587 BC.587 BC/586 BC, Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, ending the Kingdom of Judah. The conquerors destroy the Solomons Temple and exile the remaining inhabitants. Babylonian Captivity for the Jews began,586 BC, death of King Ding of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China 28 May 585 BC, A solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Thales, while Alyattes II is battling Cyaxares. This is one of the dates from which other dates can be calculated. 585 BC/584 BC, Astyages succeeds Cyaxares as King of the Medes,585 BC, King Jian of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty. 583 BC, Babylonians begins siege against Tyre,582 BC, Pythian Games founded at Delphi. 580 BC, Cambyses I succeeds Cyrus I as King of Anshan,580 BC, Isthmian Games founded at Corinth 579 BC, Servius Tullius succeeds the assassinated Lucius Tarquinius Priscus as King of Rome. 573 BC, Nemean Games founded at Nemea,572 BC, Death of King Jian of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China
4.
Mahavira
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Mahavira, also known as Vardhamāna, was the twenty-fourth and last Jain Tirthankara. Mahavira was born into a family in what is now Bihar, India. At the age of 30, he left his home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, and abandoned worldly things, including his clothes, for the next twelve-and-a-half years, Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe penance, after which he became kevalī. For the next 30 years, he travelled throughout the Indian subcontinent to teach Jain philosophy, Mahavira taught that the observance of the vows ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha is necessary to elevate the quality of life. He gave the principle of Anekantavada, Syadvada and Nayavada, the teachings of Mahavira were compiled by Gautama Swami and were called Jain Agamas. Most of these Agamas are not available today, jains believe Mahavira attained moksha at the age of 72. In Jainism, a Tirthankara signifies the founder of a tirtha which means a fordable passage across the sea of interminable births and deaths, according to the Jain texts, twenty-four Tirthankaras grace each half of the cosmic time cycle. Mahavira was the last Tirthankara of avasarpani, Samantabhadra, an illustrious Digambara monk, who lived in the 2nd century A. D. called the tīrtha of Mahavira by the name Sarvodaya. Mahavira is often called the founder of Jainism, but this was not the case because the Jain tradition recognizes his predecessors, in addition to that, Parshvanatha is accepted as a historical figure. According to Jain texts, Mahaviras childhood name was Vardhamāna, because of the prosperity in the kingdom at the time of his birth. He was called Mahavira because of the acts of bravery he performed during his childhood, Mahavira was given the title Jīnā, which later became synonymous with Tirthankara. Buddhist texts refer to Mahavira as Nigaṇṭha Jñātaputta, Nigaṇṭha means without knot, tie, or string and Jñātaputta, refers to his clan of origin as Jñāta or Naya. He is also known as Sramana, in the Gregorian calendar, this date falls in March or April and is celebrated as Mahavir Jayanti. Traditionally, Kundalpur in the ancient city of Kashtriya Kund Lachhuar is regarded as his birthplace, in the present-day Sikandra Division of Jamui district, according to Jainism, after his birth, anointment and abhisheka —carried out by Indra on Mount Meru. Most modern historians agree he was born at Kundagrama, now Basokund in Muzaffarpur district in the state of Bihar, Jain traditions date Mahavira as living from 599 B. C. to 527 B. C. Western historians date Mahavira as living from 480 BC to 408 BC, some Western scholars suggest Mahavira died around 425 BC. His height was seven cubits as per the description given in Aupapatika Sutra, as the son of a king, Mahavira had all luxuries of life at his disposal. According to the chapter of the Śvētāmbara text Acharanga Sutra
5.
Zoroaster
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Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, Zarathushtra Spitama or Ashu Zarathushtra, was an ancient Iranian prophet whose teachings developed into Zoroastrianism. He inaugurated a movement that became the dominant religion in Ancient Persia. He was a speaker of Old Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian Plateau. Zoroastrianism was already an old religion when first recorded, and it was the religion of Persian Empires. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, most of his life is known from the Zoroastrian texts. Zoroasters name in his language, Avestan, was probably Zaraϑuštra. His English name, Zoroaster, derives from a later Greek transcription, Zōroastrēs, as used in Xanthuss Lydiaca and this form appears subsequently in the Latin Zōroastrēs and, in later Greek orthographies, as Zōroastris. The Greek form of the name appears to be based on a phonetic transliteration or semantic substitution of Avestan zaraϑ- with the Greek zōros, subject then to whether Zaraϑuštra derives from *Zarantuštra- or from *Zaratuštra-, several interpretations have been proposed. If Zarantuštra is the form, it may mean with old/aging camels. With angry/furious camels, from Avestan *zarant-, angry, furious, who is driving camels or who is fostering/cherishing camels, related to Avestan zarš-, to drag. Why this is not so for zaraϑuštra has not yet been determined, notwithstanding the phonetic irregularity, that Avestan zaraϑuštra with its -ϑ- was linguistically an actual form is shown by later attestations reflecting the same basis. All present-day, Iranian-language variants of his name derive from the Middle Iranian variants of Zarϑošt, there is no consensus on the dating of Zoroaster, the Avesta gives no direct information about it, while historical sources are conflicting. Many scholars like Mary Boyce used linguistic and socio-cultural evidence to place Zoroaster between 1500 and 1000 BCE, both texts are considered to have a common archaic Indo-Iranian origin. These scholars suggest that Zoroaster lived in a tribe or composed the Gathas before the 1200–1000 BCE migration by the Iranians from the steppe to the Iranian Plateau. The shortfall of the argument is the comparison, and the archaic language of Gathas does not necessarily indicate time difference. Other scholars propose a period between 7th and 6th century, for example, c, the latest possible date is the mid 6th century, at the time of Achaemenid Empires Darius I, or his predecessor Cyrus the Great. However, in the Avesta it should not be ignored that Vishtaspas son became the ruler of the Persian Empire, the most likely conclusion is that Darius Is father was named in honor of the Zoroastrian patron, indicating probable Zoroastrian faith by Arsames. e. This belief is recorded by Diogenes Laërtius, and variant readings could place it six hundred years before Xerxes I, however, Diogenes also mentions Hermodorus belief that Zoroaster lived five thousand years before the Trojan War, which would mean he lived around 6200 BCE
6.
Pythagoras
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Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and the putative founder of the movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written centuries after he lived. He was born on the island of Samos, and travelled, visiting Egypt and Greece, around 530 BC, he moved to Croton, in Magna Graecia, and there established some kind of school or guild. In 520 BC, he returned to Samos, Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religion in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a mathematician and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which bears his name. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues, some accounts mention that the philosophy associated with Pythagoras was related to mathematics and that numbers were important. It was said that he was the first man to himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom, and Pythagorean ideas exercised a marked influence on Plato. Burkert states that Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus are the most important accounts, Aristotle had written a separate work On the Pythagoreans, which is no longer extant. However, the Protrepticus possibly contains parts of On the Pythagoreans and his disciples Dicaearchus, Aristoxenus, and Heraclides Ponticus had written on the same subject. These writers, late as they are, were among the best sources from whom Porphyry and Iamblichus drew, while adding some legendary accounts. Herodotus, Isocrates, and other writers agree that Pythagoras was the son of Mnesarchus and born on the Greek island of Samos. His father is said to have been a gem-engraver or a wealthy merchant, a late source gives his mothers name as Pythais. As to the date of his birth, Aristoxenus stated that Pythagoras left Samos in the reign of Polycrates, at the age of 40, around 530 BC he arrived in the Greek colony of Croton in what was then Magna Graecia. There he founded his own school the members of which he engaged to a disciplined. He furthermore aquired some political influence, on Greeks and non-Greeks of the region, following a conflict with the neighbouring colony of Sybaris, internal discord drove most of the Pythagoreans out of Croton. Pythagoras left the city before the outbreak of civil unrest and moved to Metapontum, after his death, his house was transformed into a sanctuary of Demeter, out of veneration for the philosopher, by the local population. In ancient sources there was disagreement and inconsistency about the late life of Pythagoras. His tomb was shown at Metapontum in the time of Cicero, according to Walter Burkert, Most obvious is the contradiction between Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus, regarding the catastrophe that overwhelmed the Pythagorean society
7.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
8.
Assyria
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Assyria was a major Mesopotamian East Semitic-speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East and the Levant. Centered on the Tigris in Upper Mesopotamia, the Assyrians came to rule powerful empires at several times. Assyria is named after its capital, the ancient city of Aššur. In the 25th and 24th centuries BC, Assyrian kings were pastoral leaders, Assyria can also refer to the geographic region or heartland where Assyria, its empires and the Assyrian people were centered. The indigenous modern Eastern Aramaic-speaking Assyrian Christian ethnic minority in northern Iraq, north east Syria, southeast Turkey, in prehistoric times, the region that was to become known as Assyria was home to a Neanderthal culture such as has been found at the Shanidar Cave. The earliest Neolithic sites in Assyria were the Jarmo culture c.7100 BC and Tell Hassuna, during the 3rd millennium BC, a very intimate cultural symbiosis developed between the Sumerians and the Akkadians throughout Mesopotamia, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian, and vice versa, is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a scale, to syntactic, morphological. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the third millennium BC as a sprachbund and it is highly likely that the city was named in honour of its patron Assyrian god with the same name. The city of Aššur, together with a number of other Assyrian cities, however it is likely that they were initially Sumerian-dominated administrative centres. In the late 26th century BC, Eannatum of Lagash, then the dominant Sumerian ruler in Mesopotamia, similarly, in c. the early 25th century BC, Lugal-Anne-Mundu the king of the Sumerian state of Adab lists Subartu as paying tribute to him. Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is known, in the Assyrian King List, the earliest king recorded was Tudiya. According to Georges Roux he would have lived in the mid 25th century BC, Tudiya was succeeded on the list by Adamu, the first known reference to the Semitic name Adam and then a further thirteen rulers. The earliest kings, such as Tudiya, who are recorded as kings who lived in tents, were independent semi-nomadic pastoralist rulers and these kings at some point became fully urbanised and founded the city state of Ashur in the mid 21st century BC. During the Akkadian Empire, the Assyrians, like all the Mesopotamian Semites, became subject to the dynasty of the city state of Akkad, the Akkadian Empire founded by Sargon the Great claimed to encompass the surrounding four quarters. Assyrian rulers were subject to Sargon and his successors, and the city of Ashur became an administrative center of the Empire. On those tablets, Assyrian traders in Burushanda implored the help of their ruler, Sargon the Great, the name Hatti itself even appears in later accounts of his grandson, Naram-Sin, campaigning in Anatolia. Assyrian and Akkadian traders spread the use of writing in the form of the Mesopotamian cuneiform script to Asia Minor, the Akkadian Empire was destroyed by economic decline and internal civil war, followed by attacks from barbarian Gutian people in 2154 BC. The rulers of Assyria during the period between c.2154 BC and 2112 BC once again fully independent, as the Gutians are only known to have administered southern Mesopotamia
9.
Jerusalem
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Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
10.
Achaemenid Empire
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The Achaemenid Empire, also called the Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. The empires successes inspired similar systems in later empires and it is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in a Hellenistic style in the empire as well. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, Alexander, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered the empire in its entirety by 330 BC. Upon his death, most of the former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire. The Persian population of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire, the historical mark of the Achaemenid Empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well. Many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange. The impact of Cyruss edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, the empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of modern Iran. Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details Due to the duration of their reigns, Smerdis, Xerxes II. The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here, the Pasargadae, Maraphii, and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the Pasargadae are the most distinguished, they contain the clan of the Achaemenids from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Derusiaei, Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as by 6th century BC another group of ancient Iranian peoples had established the short lived Median Empire. The Iranian peoples had arrived in the region of what is today Iran c.1000 BC and had for a number of centuries fallen under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, based in northern Mesopotamia. However, the Medes and Persians, Cimmerians, Persians and Chaldeans played a role in the overthrow of the Assyrian empire. The term Achaemenid means of the family of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes, despite the derivation of the name, Achaemenes was himself a minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria. At some point in 550 BC, Cyrus rose in rebellion against the Medes, eventually conquering the Medes and creating the first Persian empire
11.
Iron Age Europe
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The Iron Age is an archaeological era, referring to a period of time in the prehistory and protohistory of the Old World when the dominant toolmaking material was iron. It is commonly preceded by the Bronze Age in Europe and Asia with exceptions, meteoric iron has been used by humans since at least 3200 BC. Ancient iron production did not become widespread until the ability to smelt ore, remove impurities. The start of the Iron Age proper is considered by many to fall between around 1200 BC and 600 BC, depending on the region, the earliest known iron artifacts are nine small beads dated to 3200 BC, which were found in burials at Gerzeh, Lower Egypt. They have been identified as meteoric iron shaped by careful hammering, meteoric iron, a characteristic iron–nickel alloy, was used by various ancient peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. Such iron, being in its metallic state, required no smelting of ores. Smelted iron appears sporadically in the record from the middle Bronze Age. While terrestrial iron is abundant, its high melting point of 1,538 °C placed it out of reach of common use until the end of the second millennium BC. Tins low melting point of 231, similarly, recent archaeological remains of iron working in the Ganges Valley in India have been tentatively dated to 1800 BC. By the Middle Bronze Age, increasing numbers of smelted iron objects appeared in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, African sites are turning up dates as early as 1200 BC. Modern archaeological evidence identifies the start of iron production in around 1200 BC. Between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, diffusion in the understanding of iron metallurgy and use of objects was fast. As evidence, many bronze implements were recycled into weapons during this time, more widespread use of iron led to improved steel-making technology at lower cost. Thus, even when tin became available again, iron was cheaper, stronger, and lighter, and forged iron implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently. Increasingly, the Iron Age in Europe is being seen as a part of the Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East, in ancient India, ancient Iran, and ancient Greece. In other regions of Europe, the Iron Age began in the 8th century BC in Central Europe, the Near Eastern Iron Age is divided into two subsections, Iron I and Iron II. Iron I illustrates both continuity and discontinuity with the previous Late Bronze Age, during the Iron Age, the best tools and weapons were made from steel, particularly alloys which were produced with a carbon content between approximately 0. 30% and 1. 2% by weight. Steel weapons and tools were nearly the same weight as those of bronze, however, steel was difficult to produce with the methods available, and alloys that were easier to make, such as wrought iron, were more common in lower-priced goods
12.
Celts
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The history of pre-Celtic Europe remains very uncertain. According to one theory, the root of the Celtic languages, the Proto-Celtic language, arose in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of Central Europe. Thus this area is called the Celtic homeland. The earliest undisputed examples of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions beginning in the 6th century BC. Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names, Insular Celtic languages are attested beginning around the 4th century in Ogham inscriptions, although it was clearly being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century, coherent texts of Early Irish literature, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge, survive in 12th century recensions. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the Celtic-speaking communities in these Atlantic regions emerged as a cohesive cultural entity. They had a linguistic, religious and artistic heritage that distinguished them from the culture of the surrounding polities. By the 6th century, however, the Continental Celtic languages were no longer in wide use, Insular Celtic culture diversified into that of the Gaels and the Celtic Britons of the medieval and modern periods. A modern Celtic identity was constructed as part of the Romanticist Celtic Revival in Great Britain, Ireland, today, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton are still spoken in parts of their historical territories, and Cornish and Manx are undergoing a revival. The first recorded use of the name of Celts – as Κελτοί – to refer to a group was by Hecataeus of Miletus, the Greek geographer, in 517 BC. In the fifth century BC Herodotus referred to Keltoi living around the head of the Danube, the etymology of the term Keltoi is unclear. Possible roots include Indo-European *kʲel ‘to hide’, IE *kʲel ‘to heat’ or *kel ‘to impel’, several authors have supposed it to be Celtic in origin, while others view it as a name coined by Greeks. Linguist Patrizia De Bernardo Stempel falls in the group. Yet he reports Celtic peoples in Iberia, and also uses the ethnic names Celtiberi and Celtici for peoples there, as distinct from Lusitani, pliny the Elder cited the use of Celtici in Lusitania as a tribal surname, which epigraphic findings have confirmed. Latin Gallus might stem from a Celtic ethnic or tribal name originally and its root may be the Proto-Celtic *galno, meaning “power, strength”, hence Old Irish gal “boldness, ferocity” and Welsh gallu “to be able, power”. The tribal names of Gallaeci and the Greek Γαλάται most probably have the same origin, the suffix -atai might be an Ancient Greek inflection. Proto-Germanic *walha is derived ultimately from the name of the Volcae and this means that English Gaul, despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin Gallia, though it does refer to the same ancient region
